Anime & Manga News

Additional Cast of 'High☆Speed!: Free! Starting Days' Announced

by arsonal
Sep 20, 2015 11:12 PM | 40 Comments
Kyoto Animation has updated the official website of the High☆Speed!: Free! Starting Days anime movie with a new theatrical poster and additional cast. The movie opens in theaters in Japan on December 5, 2015.

The movie is an adaptation of Kouji Ooji's High☆Speed! light novels, which received an honorable mention in the 2011 Kyoto Animation Awards. It serves as a prequel to the 2013 TV series Free!, which was animated based on the setting of Ooji's novels. The newly announced cast will voice other members of Iwatobi Middle School's swimming club.

Cast
Asahi Shiina: Toshiyuki Toyonaga (Durarara!!)
Ikuya Kirishima: Kouki Uchiyama (Amagi Brilliant Park)
Natsuya Kirishima: Kenji Nojima (High School DxD)
Nao Serizawa: Satoshi Hino (Shakugan no Shana)

Source: Official site

20 of 40 Comments Recent Comments

phoenixalia said:
rodac said:
Mod Note: Thread has been cleaned of the derails and replies. Repeated posting of derails hostile to a show, or the genre the show belongs to, can be considered baiting/trolling and will be dealt with accordingly.


Thank you very much!


Yes, thanks rodac San :)

Sep 27, 2015 1:21 AM by removed-user

rodac said:
Mod Note: Thread has been cleaned of the derails and replies. Repeated posting of derails hostile to a show, or the genre the show belongs to, can be considered baiting/trolling and will be dealt with accordingly.


Thank you very much!

Sep 27, 2015 12:53 AM by phoenixalia

Mod Note: Thread has been cleaned of the derails and replies. Repeated posting of derails hostile to a show, or the genre the show belongs to, can be considered baiting/trolling and will be dealt with accordingly.

Sep 26, 2015 1:01 PM by rodac

Helenus said:
But I just don't get the hype for this movie.

I mean who exactly cares for the childhood of the boys? I don't see the appeal for the fujoshi audience either. They are kids in this movie. So no muscle-moe fest this time.

I don't watch Free! for the muscles, though. I genuinely care and want to know about the characters. This movie serves as a backstory for everyone and shows different events that happened before they became adults. I'm interested.

Also I read about of the High Speed Novel and it's actually pretty amazing. They don't have to be hot swimmers to have feels on my kokoro.[/quote]

Pretty much this. The muscles were just an added bonus for me.

Sep 25, 2015 10:27 PM by phoenixalia

Helenus said:
I would have prefered a sequel. Not a prequel.

Yeah, we all did, don't worry. I love any sort of college anime so I was hoping for that. Oh well!
Since the franchise is super popular, I'm expecting more out of it.

Sep 25, 2015 2:30 PM by Mayuka

Well, you all write about the great novels. Fair enough!

But I care for the characters in the form I learned to like them. As young adults/high school-/college students. I know there are some impactful events in the novels. But I am not really interested in childhood stories.

I would have prefered a sequel. Not a prequel.

Sep 25, 2015 2:29 PM by Helenus

Kotobukii said:
mayukachan said:

Mostly because S1 wasn't prepared. They only made S1 because of the petition and PV, whilst S2 had a lot of preparation and the writing improved a lot.


That's not why they made S1. They were planning to adapt this back when High Speed won their novel competition. You can't make an entire series between the time of the PV/petition and the announcement it had.

Point taken, but still, they didn't have the time to plan.

Red_Keys said:
mayukachan said:
I have to disagree. I think it goes like this:
Season 2 > Novels > Season 1
Mostly because S1 wasn't prepared. They only made S1 because of the petition and PV, whilst S2 had a lot of preparation and the writing improved a lot.
Why do people like S2 so much?

I thought it was awful. All the "drama" was vague unexplained inconsequential nonsense hyped up for literally no reason. They tried to make it so high stakes and dramatic, but didn't have anywhere close to the bite to back it up, leaving it with a childish and pretentious feeling.

Characters sobbing and wailing, acting in ways that appear almost suicidal, all because "I want to swim", is like putting a 5 year old in the white house, and trying to make a legitimate drama out of it. The situation just does not fit. All the characters acted as if somebody died or something, for literally no reason.

I found it almost unbearable to watch.

I do agree that the main plot the "I want to be free, I want to swim" plot was a bit overly simple and childish but it brought some dimension to Haruka's character, which he barely had in the first place because he was one of those stoic one track minded characters.

I found the drama impacting and some, heartwarming. Maybe it was too much for you. I think it's fine for anime to over-exaggerate on little things. I also really liked their voice actors, so maybe that's why I was more moved.

I liked season 2 the most because:
It focused on every character and gave everyone a push in character development.
It focused on the third years' preparation to leave for college which is something I found rare in anime. They actually brought out the insecurities and thoughts a senior student would actually have. I was a senior when I watched it, so maybe that's why.

Sep 25, 2015 2:14 PM by Mayuka

mayukachan said:
I have to disagree. I think it goes like this:
Season 2 > Novels > Season 1
Mostly because S1 wasn't prepared. They only made S1 because of the petition and PV, whilst S2 had a lot of preparation and the writing improved a lot.
Why do people like S2 so much?

I thought it was awful. All the "drama" was vague unexplained inconsequential nonsense hyped up for literally no reason. They tried to make it so high stakes and dramatic, but didn't have anywhere close to the bite to back it up, leaving it with a childish and pretentious feeling.

Characters sobbing and wailing, acting in ways that appear almost suicidal, all because "I want to swim", is like putting a 5 year old in the white house, and trying to make a legitimate drama out of it. The situation just does not fit. All the characters acted as if somebody died or something, for literally no reason.

I found it almost unbearable to watch.

Sep 25, 2015 1:58 PM by Red_Keys

mayukachan said:

Mostly because S1 wasn't prepared. They only made S1 because of the petition and PV, whilst S2 had a lot of preparation and the writing improved a lot.


That's not why they made S1. They were planning to adapt this back when High Speed won their novel competition. You can't make an entire series between the time of the PV/petition and the announcement it had.

Helenus said:

But I just don't get the hype for this movie.

I mean who exactly cares for the childhood of the boys? I don't see the appeal for the fujoshi audience either. They are kids in this movie. So no muscle-moe fest this time.


Who actually cares? People who care about the characters? obviously lmao?

there are quite a few fujoshi who are into shotas as well. inazuma 11 is popular with them for a reason you know. not everything has to be about sex either. sometimes people just like shit that doesn't appeal to their sexuality.

Sep 25, 2015 1:28 PM by marx-chan

Ahh I think it's the preference? I still think the novels are better than both anime seasons. But I gotta agree Season 1 is quite bad well at least for me, the plot was all over the place and it's irritating how they treated some of the characters.

Season 2 could've been better Imo if they handle Sousuke character way more neat and less cliché than some injured characters(I really love Sousuke tho but little!Sousuke was amazing in the 2nd novel both as athlete and rival to Haru, so it really saddened me that Kyonani chose the injured athlete route for him in the anime)

Sep 25, 2015 12:48 PM by lilymul

lilymul said:
Besides if you have read the novels Free! adapted from, imo they are much more better than both seasons combined. Also from the promotion and stuffs it's quite telling that the fanservice won't be as much as the anime adaptation. And the characters and plot perspective might be taking a different route from the originals since Starting Days is directed by different person.

I have to disagree. I think it goes like this:
Season 2 > Novels > Season 1
Mostly because S1 wasn't prepared. They only made S1 because of the petition and PV, whilst S2 had a lot of preparation and the writing improved a lot.

Sep 25, 2015 12:23 PM by Mayuka

Helenus said:
I really REALLY liked the original Free! series.

But I just don't get the hype for this movie.

I mean who exactly cares for the childhood of the boys? I don't see the appeal for the fujoshi audience either. They are kids in this movie. So no muscle-moe fest this time.

Prequels seldom work for me. As I saw the announcement for this movie I was reminded of a Patton Oswalt sketch about George Lucas and his Star Wars Prequels:

George Lucas: You like Darth Vader?

Patton Oswalt: I fucking LOVE Darth Vader, with the cape, the helmet, force-chocking people. That's awesome!

George Lucas: You got to see him in the movie. AS A LITTLE KID. And then he's taken away from his mom and he's really sad.

Patton Oswalt: .....

George Lucas: You like Boba Fett?

Patton Oswalt: I fucking LOVE Boba Fett. With the jet pack, a bounty hunter, killing people...

George Lucas: You got to see him in the movie. AS A LITTLE KID. And then his father dies and he's very sad.


That's what I think about this whole movie and the direction of the franchise.


Oh lol @ people who think fans watched this series solely for the fanservice.I am a huge fan of Free!(also a huge shipper too lol), despite being a such fanservice show, it's quite shallow to think fans anticipate this for the muscles fest when from the start Free! is not created for the sole reason of being a fanservice show. It has plot(altho sappy and dramatic), the characters grow and there are fans who care more about the characters and story rather than some muscle-moe fests.

Besides if you have read the novels Free! adapted from, imo they are much more better than both seasons combined( I recommend you to read the manga adaptation for a start and see how amazing Free! can be without it being a half naked bishonen show with teasing of BL here and there) also from the promotion and stuffs it's quite telling that the fanservice won't be as much as the anime adaptation. And the characters and plot perspective might be taking a different route from the originals since Starting Days is directed by different person this time.

Anyway, back on the news, OLDCODEX is doing the theme song OMG YASSSSS!! more Tattsun is always good!

Sep 25, 2015 12:21 PM by lilymul

Helenus said:
But I just don't get the hype for this movie.

I mean who exactly cares for the childhood of the boys? I don't see the appeal for the fujoshi audience either. They are kids in this movie. So no muscle-moe fest this time.

I don't watch Free! for the muscles, though. I genuinely care and want to know about the characters. This movie serves as a backstory for everyone and shows different events that happened before they became adults. I'm interested.

Also I read about of the High Speed Novel and it's actually pretty amazing. They don't have to be hot swimmers to have feels on my kokoro.

Sep 25, 2015 11:04 AM by Mayuka

I really REALLY liked the original Free! series.

But I just don't get the hype for this movie.

I mean who exactly cares for the childhood of the boys? I don't see the appeal for the fujoshi audience either. They are kids in this movie. So no muscle-moe fest this time.

Prequels seldom work for me. As I saw the announcement for this movie I was reminded of a Patton Oswalt sketch about George Lucas and his Star Wars Prequels:

George Lucas: You like Darth Vader?

Patton Oswalt: I fucking LOVE Darth Vader, with the cape, the helmet, force-chocking people. That's awesome!

George Lucas: You got to see him in the movie. AS A LITTLE KID. And then he's taken away from his mom and he's really sad.

Patton Oswalt: .....

George Lucas: You like Boba Fett?

Patton Oswalt: I fucking LOVE Boba Fett. With the jet pack, a bounty hunter, killing people...

George Lucas: You got to see him in the movie. AS A LITTLE KID. And then his father dies and he's very sad.


That's what I think about this whole movie and the direction of the franchise.

Sep 25, 2015 6:12 AM by Helenus

I can't wait! I hope KyoAni also releases at least one OVA or Special about their lives in college.

Sep 24, 2015 2:18 PM by Dull_Lull

Oh that swimming anime :o

Sep 23, 2015 1:30 PM by KamSung

Red_Keys said:
Why are people giving attention to the painfully obvious bait...

I almost feel proud

Sep 23, 2015 9:01 AM by Mayuka

Why are people giving attention to the painfully obvious bait...

Sep 22, 2015 6:00 PM by Red_Keys

nice, I'm familiar with a few of them so that's cool
also lmao @ y'all here to just complain about the "yaoi fan" pandering like.. ok.. bye then..

Sep 22, 2015 4:18 AM by Bird

Amazing, I love the cast + Oldcodex.
Cant wait.

Sep 22, 2015 1:48 AM by eisan

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